No charges for woman, son who claimed self-defense in fatal shooting

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office will not charge a Minneapolis woman and her son after one of them fatally shot a man who the woman said attempted to break into the home and approached them in a threatening manner.

Martin L. Johnson, 30, died after he was shot in the chest Feb. 22 in the backyard of the home in the 3300 block of S. 25th Avenue, in the city's Corcoran neighborhood. The attorney's office will not file charges because both have "valid self-defense claims," and the two did not have the duty to retreat because they were at the "threshold of their patio door" when the shots were fired, according to a news release Monday.

"The homeowner and her son did not have a duty to retreat because they were inside their own home," according to the release. "All of the surrounding circumstances show that their fear of bodily harm was subjectively real and objectively reasonable."

Evidence from the Minneapolis Police Department's investigation showed the 53-year-old homeowner and her 26-year-old son acted in self-defense after Johnson attempted to break into the home and then refused to leave the backyard, according to the release. Police also found Johnson was unarmed.

Footage from a surveillance camera at the home showed Johnson jumped a 6-foot privacy fence around the backyard and tried to enter the home through a patio door, according to the Attorney's Office. After failing to enter the home, he entered the detached garage through a service door.

The woman saw Johnson on the camera trying to enter her home and thought he left, according to the release. She armed herself with a gun she legally owns and told her son to retrieve a rifle from the basement in case Johnson was able to get it through an egress window.

She saw the service door to the garage was slightly open and realized Johnson was still there, according to the release. She fired warning shots, and both she and her son yelled at Johnson to leave.

Johnson left the garage but would not leave the backyard and walked towards the homeowner and her son, according to the release. He was then shot in the chest and died of those injuries.

The son called 911, and he and his mother provided voluntary interviews to police and gave them access to their surveillance cameras.

Police and the medical examiner's office could not determine which of the guns fired the bullet that killed Johnson. The woman told police she shot Johnson when he approached while reaching into his waistband.

"The homeowner and her son were reasonable in thinking that a potential burglar, undeterred by warning shots and advancing toward them, could pose a significant danger," according to the release. "While this case is tragic, there is not sufficient proof that the homeowner and/or her son are guilty of a crime."

The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects unless charged.